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Following a longer than expected testing period that spanned 11 separate developer betas and ran past the releases of new iOS and iPadOS updates, Apple today officially released macOS Catalina to the general public. Version 10.15 brings a handful of significant changes to the Mac operating system, though developers have expressed serious concerns about the impact it will have on both legacy apps and new app development.
One of Catalina’s signature features is Catalyst, the Apple initiative to bring iPad and iPhone apps to Macs, formerly codenamed Marzipan. Currently in its second of three stages, an early version of Catalyst enabled Apple to cross-develop several iPad and Mac apps last year, while third-party developers received access at WWDC this year.
Catalyst unquestionably has benefits, including allowing developers to create one code base that works across multiple Apple platforms — a trick that has enabled the new Apple Arcade subscription service to bring dozens of new mobile-caliber games to the Mac with minimal additional effort. But some developers have noted that version 10.15 is shipping with components that may not work on some older Macs, preventing Catalyst apps from rendering using SceneKit, an issue that may be fixed in a subsequent Catalina release.
On a related note, other developers are warning users that Catalina will break or entirely disable previously functional Mac apps. Apple has warned for at least a year that Catalina wouldn’t support legacy 32-bit apps, giving developers an opportunity to update their code, but some — particularly makers of older games and emulators — have said that the updating effort isn’t worth the modest revenue they might generate, so their apps are effectively being abandoned.
Users willing to upgrade to Catalina despite these issues will find the new operating system to be otherwise polished and robust, and many well-regarded apps have been updated with Catalina support: in some cases, such as Parallels Desktop 15, with all-new paid versions, while most others, including system utilities such as CleanMyMac X, are seeing free tweaks to guarantee Catalina compatibility.
Mac Catalyst The Mac App Store still doesn't offer many favorites seen on the iPhone and iPad like Facebook, Netflix, and Hulu, but Mac Catalyst aims to change that by providing tools to make. Look no further than Apple’s own Catalyst ports. The crux of the issue in my mind is that iOS and Mac OS are so fundamentally different that the whole notion of getting a cohesive experience through porting apps with minimal effort becomes absurd. Kind of like a toaster-fridge. Previously: Catalyst in Catalina; Update (2019-12-19): Nick.
Catalina also includes a handful of new tentpole features, including Sidecar, which enables an iPad to serve as a wired or wireless second screen for Macs, as well as an Apple Pencil-aided input device — a huge boon for both artists and users of small-screened laptops. Sidecar has worked remarkably well since the earliest Catalina betas, and will eliminate many users’ need to rely upon similar third-party solutions.
Above: Apple’s new Podcasts app for macOS Catalina.
macOS Catalina also deprecates iTunes, all but entirely replacing the 18-year-old media management app with multiple purpose-built apps called Music, Podcasts, and TV. Synchronization and backups of iPods, iPhones, and iPads now take place in Catalina’s Finder rather than iTunes, while the new Catalyst-developed Mac media apps essentially replicate the ones found on iPads.
iTunes isn’t dead yet: Apple says version 12.8 will “always” remain as a download for prior macOS versions, and version 12.9.4 still exists for PCs. But most users will have no need for it with Catalina.
Apple has also used Catalina to improve the Photos app with a beautiful, animated Days browser; bring Find My Friends and Find My iPhone features out of their prior web interfaces into a new Find My app; and make welcome tweaks to Notes and Reminders apps. There are also under-the-hood improvements that speed up common processes, such as Mac unlocking, password entry, and Safari browsing. Assuming you’re not concerned about legacy apps — all of which should have spent months under macOS 10.14 launching with “this app may not be supported in the next macOS release” warnings — it’s a great upgrade, and safe to install on your computer.
macOS Catalina is available now from the Mac App Store as a free download. Expect two restarts during the upgrade, including the need to enter an administrator password roughly 15 minutes into installation, the one remaining hiccup in the Mac update process.
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Become a memberITCH 2.0.1 (Legacy)
What's new in ITCH 2.0?
Features in ITCH 2.0 and above
- A fresh new look, with changeable Night & Day modes.
- New SP-6 Sample Player including Sample Sync.
- Multiple display modes to suit different styles of DJing - vertical, horizontal, stack and library views.
- Re-optimised Serato SmartSync engine for precise grids and locked grooves.
- Improved Library Management so you can easily copy crates & tracks to external drives for gigs.
- Smart Crates which auto-fill using keywords from your music library.
- Serato Playlists to share your tracklists either as you play, or online afterwards.
- Album Art Views for enhanced browsing.
- Improved Instant Doubles functionality, including support for 4 decks.
- ITCH 2.0.1 fixes the firmware updating issue affecting the Vestax VCI-300 MKI
Hardware and OS Support
What Is Mac Catalyst
Support for current ITCH hardware
ITCH Controllers with internal audio mixing
Allen & Heath Xone:DX
Novation TWITCH
Numark NS7
Numark NS6
Pioneer DDJ-S1
Vestax VCI-300
ITCH Components for outboard audio mixing
Denon DJ DN-HC5000
Numark V7
ITCH DJ FX Controllers
Numark NSFX
Vestax VFX-1
Support for all current OS
Mac OS X 10.6 / 10.5 / 10.4.11
Windows 7 / Vista / XP 32-bit
Windows 7 / Vista 64-bit
Read the full ITCH 2.0.1 release notes.